The Sarwar Report (D1) – Week 3

The Sarwar Report is now entering week 3. As promised, an interview with a member of Montreal’s Finest will be posted in this column. Just a quick reminder: all donations for the Castleton Challenge must be given to Rostyn Castleton or Matthew Young by this weekend. Please contact them and they’ll have happy to meet and accommodate you to the best of their abilities. This is our duty to help those in need and I would like to thank everyone in advance for participating.

 

Going back to the world of flag football, here is what happened last week:

 

Headlines

 

The One That Got Away

 

Express were oh-so close to finally pulling off another upset, this time against the Hurricanes, but came up short. The story of the Express is the play of Simon Charbonneau-Campeau who was just impossible for the Hurricanes defense to stop. He had 5 catches for 75 yards and 3 TDs. He made the best catch I have seen so far this season, where he jumped over two defenders in the end zone and came down with the touchdown. The Express will need to learn to put these games away especially since they were ahead but failed to guard the lead. That being said, they are making it very exciting to watch them play every week, and are leveling off the parity in D1 even more.

 

Clutchness!

 

What is clutchness? It is the ability to make clutch plays. Hurricanes possess clutchness. This past weekends game could have been won by the Express however Hurricanes capitalized on key opportunities to gain the lead, and then shut the door for the win. If anyone remembers last Winter season, they were not the favorites to go all the way but went to shootouts in the finals. I am not entirely sure what the 2010 Winter season has in store for them but they should never underestimated. Nicholas Raymond has been a great addition for them and he did a great job on Patrick Chenard in week 3 (two sacks). They continue to take it one game at a time which is also another important reason for their success.

 

CLR “Force” Their Way to Second

 

CLR Forces demolished Rainmakers by a score of 46-25. Freddy Dupuis put on a clinic by throwing for 247 yards and 7 TDs. Furthermore they’re tied at 2-1 with Hurricanes but because of the head-to-head advantage, they’re second in the standings. Is this team for real? I definitely think so. They were within one score of the Finest and defeated the Hurricanes. They’ll have to keep playing strong if they want to keep their place in the standings because with the way the top 5 teams are playing this season, they can easily be 5th in a couple of weeks.

 

What Do The Expos Need?

 

For a team of their caliber, it is hard to believe they’re 0-3. Perhaps their problem is they have too many superstars and as a result, their chemistry suffers. They got demolished by the Finest in week 3 and it was apparent that so far they’re now the Division 1 Doormat. Can they turn their season around? It is highly likely, but it will need to start pretty soon because if they fall to 0-4, it will be that much tougher to climb back into a playoff spot. So what can they do? Well the evident signs point to work on defense as they are just not keeping up with Division 1 offenses but more importantly, their offense has to put 35+ points (I’ll keep track of how many games do they win in which they scored less than 35 points) if they even have a chance of winning because every other team’s offenses are getting stronger and they’ll need to win shootouts. At this point, I sure do no see them winning any games based on defense.

 

Three STARwars of the week

 

3. Simon Charbonneau-Campeau (Express): 5 receptions, 75 yards, 3 TDs.

 

2. Louis Lacroix (CLR Forces): 5 receptions, 80 yards, 3 TDs

 

1. Mike Harrington (Montreal’s Finest): 8 receptions, 87 yards, 3 TDs.

 

 

A Second With Sarwar

 

This week’s guest is none other than WEPL host, FPF columnist and captain of Montreal’s Finest, Moe Khan. (Moe was told to keep his responses short however we all know Moe Khan isn’t very good at following directions

 

1) You have been in this league since the beginning, talk about your Montreal’s Finest from 2005 to 2010 in terms of roster changes?

 

Well, initially back in December of ’04, when I heard about this league I was not too sure if I was going to play. However, one of my good friends Al Lester (current quarterback for Pendent Publishing) convinced me to join his team (House of Pain). I was impressed that 18 teams signed up.

 

However, it was evident that some teams did not belong in the same division as the Young Guns, Lounge 6, and Hurricanes. But the league has done a marvelous job by creating more divisions which has allowed teams to develop and become more competitive. Unfortunately for the H.O.P. they did not come back, and as a result, I decided to move forward in creating a new team for the ’06 season. 

 

2) What made you decide to put together a team in FPF?

 

Well, Kishon (Thompson) and Karim(Binette) were angry with me during the first FPF season for not asking them to come play on the extinct House Of Pain. From there, we formed the nucleus of the team that consisted of Akked Moore, Zan Symonds, Kishon, Karim, and I.

 

3) What is the toughest part about being a captain?

 

Toughest part of being a captain is making sure everyone has the correct jersey, or in our case t-shirts!. There were a few times (I won’t name anyone) that one player brought the wrong shirt, and as a result, everyone had to change their shirt!

 

In all honesty, there isn’t a tough part to the job. Everyone knows what the description is being the captain of a team. Therefore, you assume the role and go with it. Sure, there are days, that you wish someone else was captain, but at the end of the day everything will be taken care of.

 

4) After the first two losses in the finals, what did you have to do to make sure you would win the third time?

 

When I think about the first two losses to the Canes, it was tough pills to swallow. In ’07 it was hard because it was blow for blow boxing match, and Shane Williams made a huge endzone interception. As a result, that was the difference that won the game for them. 

 

In the ’08 finals, we were thoroughly outplayed by them. No one on the Finest is going to deny that. But during that off-season, we (Karim, Kish, and I) said we needed to identify players who will go all out on each play. Furthermore, we needed to add depth to all positions for the season. If you looked at the Canes first two title runs, they had depth at all positions, and I strongly believed that is why they have been a perennial contender in this league.

 

We were fortunate enough that one of the best players in this league Kevin Wyeth was a free agent. He was eager to play with us because he knew everyone from the Chateauguay Jr. Raider’s program, and touch leagues. Kevin Challenger grew up playing with Zan, Akked, Kish, and Karim in the Lasalle program. So he came on-board. I can proudly say, I was the mastermind behind the Andre Knights signing. I remember in winter ’08, we (High Rollers) played the Shockers, and Knights was covering Kishon. Knights knew what the play was, but Kish beat him to the ball, and scored. I remembered his reaction, and how angry he was. Right then, I knew he had the determination, and killer instinct to go all out!!! Then watching him in the ’08 spring league, we had to get him, otherwise, someone else in D1 would have. So he signed on. The last player was Nathan Taylor. He is by far one of the fastest players I have ever seen. He took a bit longer to join than the other signings. But Kish, Karim, and I worked on him. My selling point to him was, who is recruiting you at 1:30am on Facebook chat, while doing his radio show? But we knew he was the last piece to the team, because of his on-field abilities. 

From there, we worked hard to win that D1 title, and it was well worth the wait. We hoped we gave the fans, and the FPF a game to remember. 

 

5) Who is the most overrated and underrated player on the Finest?

 

Overrated Moe Khan, and underrated Zan Symonds. No one talks about Zan, and what he brings to the field. For him to transition from the quarterback position to playing DB, he is by far one of the best and toughest players I have ever played with.

 

6) Who is the best player you have played with on the Finest?

 

Everyone, enough said!!! 🙂

 

7) Talk about being a rusher, some people say it is not as hard as it looks, especially with a defense like Finest. What does the position require?

 

Rusher is just as hard as the quarterback position [author’s note: YEAA RIGHT]. It is like a chess match. A rusher cannot assume they will get a sack on each play (unless you’re Jon Young). Essentially, the job description for the rusher is to make life difficult for the quarterback to force him to throw to his fourth, if not, fifth read. A sack is great, but if you’re able to make the quarterback uncomfortable for the entire game, then you have done your job.

 

As for the position, make sure the quarterback is in-front of you. If he runs by the rusher, then you’ve failed. It is a great challenge to see who can come out on-top.

 

As for playing on the Finest defense. I won’t say anything because I do not want to reveal too much of what we do. But all I will say, no one takes any plays off ;).

 

8) What is your pre-game routine? Some people have seen you growling on the sidelines!

 

Growling?!?  Wow, I never thought anyone would recognize that. The funny story behind that, I was watching an NFL Network commercial, and John Henderson of the Jacksonville Jaguars, started to growl. So I said to myself, if he can growl, so can I!

 

My routine consists of getting to the field at a good time. I usually bring two bananas to the game one for Nathan, and the other for me. I like to stretch, because playing on the hard capret at Lachine can do wonders to the lower body.

 

Essentially, I don’t want to be  behind the eight ball when it comes preparation. Everything from the roster sheet, to everyone being there on time is on my watch, so I have to make sure everything is running smoothly.

 

9) One of your most memorable moments (besides any of your own) and one of the most forgettable ones (also besides any of your own)?

 

Two moments, the catch that Andre Knights made as he was pushed out of bounds in the D1 finals was incredible. Of course, the Challenger catch. Without those two plays, we might not be hoisting the title. Honestly, I don’t think my sack was that big. Because we would never have had the chance if it wasn’t for Knights’ catch.

 

10) Some people say you are a player in Div 1 rather than a Div 1 player, your response?

 

Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion. 

 

11) What is the best rivalry in FPF? In Div 1?

 

I was thinking it was Finest-Machine. But no question. Finest-Hurricanes. To make it to three finals in a row, is a testament to both organizations. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet for a fourth time. But we have an earlier date with these guys on February 13th. Moreover, I am sure there are four other teams that would like to play in the D1 finals this season. So this will be a tough year regardless of where we are in the standings.

 

12) The Montreal’s Finest are stronger than ever, could have ever imagined this? What are in plans for the Finest in the next 5 years?

 

I am not surprised that the Finest is stronger than before. We couldn’t have asked for a better story to able to go through what we did. Losing in ’06 to the CLR Forces, then losing two in a row to the Canes. Finally winning the D1 title last year. But we’re proud that we have been a staple of the FPF, and we hope to go at it as long as we can.

 

I can’t look five years down the road because who knows what will happen. There are so many offseason changes that nothing is guaranteed. But we will continue to play until further notice. I am enjoying each moment I have with these guys. A great group of guys to play and hangout with.

 

13) Any last thoughts or comments you want to tell the FPF world?

 

No, because we let out our game play do the talking for us. Well in general, everyone is jealous that I am a Raiders fan!

 

And there you have it, our beloved Moe Khan and his two cents. Next week’s guest will be from the Hurricanes so stay tuned for that!

 

The Amazing Race

 

Known to be an entertaining TV show, this segment will monitor leading candidates for FlagPlus Football’s seasonal awards alongside a new award (entirely fictional but holds high value), Heisman Trophy given to league MVP for the Winter 2010 season. This list of candidates will be updated weekly.

 

Quarterback

 

Kevin Wyeth: 52-72 for 701 yards with 17 TDs, 4 INTs, 1 Sack and 119.3 QB rating.

Frederic Dupuis: 53-78 for 598 yards with 17 TDs, 1 INT, 2  Sacks and 124.9 QB rating.

 

Wide Receiver

 

Mike Harrington: 18 receptions, 196 yards, 6 TDs.

Dominique Lemieux: 17 receptions, 187 yards, 5 TDs.

Shane Williams: 17 receptions, 185 yards, 5 TDs.

 

Defensive Player

 

Kishon Thompson: 18 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PDs.

Bruno Collette: 8 tackles, 2 INTs.

Michael Chitayat: 12 tackles, 1 INT for TD, 1 PD.

 

Two-Way Player

 

Michael Chitayat: 10 receptions, 128 yards, 5 TDs; 12 tackles, 1 INT for TD, 1 PD.

Nathan Taylor: 5 receptions, 115 yards, 3 TDs; 7 tackles, 3 PDs.

Patrick Chenard: 42-68 for 484 yards with 12 TDs, 4 INT, and 4 Sacks; 169 rushing yards and 3 TDs; 7 tackles, 1 INT and 1 PD.

 

The Heisman  (in that order)

 

1. Kevin Wyeth

2. Frederic Dupuis

3. Patrick Chenard

 

 

That’s it for this week’s column. Please don’t forget to submit your donations for Haiti to Rostyn Castleton or Matthew Young by this weekend. If you have any questions/comments/suggestions, please contact me at [email protected]. I wish you all luck in this weekend’s match ups and leave you with the following:

 

“The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.” – Vince Lombardi